Egg carton and blank therefor



y 2, 1966 I M. KOLTZ ETAL 3,260,441

EGG CARTON AND BLANK THEREFOR Filed p 21, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 E9INVENTORS l. Morton KOLTZ Jack B. ROZEN A TTORNEY July 12, 1966 1. M.KOLTZ ETAL EGG CARTON AND BLANK THEREFOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept.21, 1964 INVENTORS l. Morton KOLTZ Jack B. ROZEN WLaQ r W ATTORNEY I. M.KOLTZ ETAL EGG CARTON AND BLANK THEREFOR July 12, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 3Filed Sept. 21, 1964 INVENTORS Morton KOLTZ Jack B. ROZEN ATTORNEYUnited States Patent 3,260,441 EGG CARTON AND BLANK THEREFOR IrvingMorton Koltz, Montreal, Quebec, and Jack Benjamin Rozen, Chomedey,Quebec, Canada, assignors to POP Design Consultants of Canada Ltd.,Montreal,

Quebec, Canada Filed Sept. 21, 1964, Ser. No. 397,716 14 Claims. (Cl.229-28) This invention relates to egg cartons.

For ease of handling and for their protection, eggs, during their retaildistribution and marketing, are invariably packed in sixes or dozens incardboard cartons. The cartons employed are conventionally produced fromone-piece scored and cut blanks by means of folding operations. Theblanks, when erected, provide a pocket for each egg. Many millions ofegg cartons are required annually and, as each carton is only used once,large quantities of board are devoted to the production of egg cartons.In view of the number of cartons, a small saving in the amount of boardrequired for each carton results in a considerable saving in the amountof board required per annum with immediately apparent economies.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an egg carton whichis formed from a blank having a smaller area than the blanks requiredfor heretofore proposed cartons of comparable size while at the sametime ensuring that the carton affords superior protection for the eggscontained therein.

A further object of the invention is to provide an egg carton which doesnot rely for its stability entirely on the interlocking action betweenvarious parts of the carton but which has a stable, permanent joint.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a carton which can beerected from a blank by hand or by using a simple tool. Such a cartoncan be distributed, in blank form, to the poultry stations and can beerected readily without the necessity of providing complicated equipmentat the poultry stations. Once the cartons have been erected and filledby the poultry farmer they are immediately ready for forwarding to theretailer: the eggs consequently do not have to be shipped whileunprotected with the consequent risk of breakage.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference tothe accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an egg carton according to the presentinvention,

FIGURE 2 is a top plan View of part of the carton of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a section on the line 33 of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 4 is an end view of the carton of FIG- URE 1,

FIGURE 5 is a section on the line 55 of FIG- URE 2,

FIGURE 6 is a longitudinal section of the egg carton according to thepresent invention,

FIGURE 7 is a plan view of the blank from which the egg carton isproduced,

FIGURE 8 is a view of one side of the blank of FIGURE 7 after the blankhas been folded,

FIGURE 9 is an end view of the blank of FIGURE 8,

FIGURE 10 is a View of the blank of FIGURE 8 with the blank turnedthrough 180 about the bottom edge thereof as viewed in FIGURE 8, 1

FIGURE 11 is a section similar to that of FIGURE 5 but showing onepocket only and an egg in the pocket, and

FIGURE 12 is a view of a modified part of the blank of FIGURE 7.

' The carton which forms the subject of the present invention isillustrated in FIGURE 1 and is generally designated by the reference 10.It is believed that the construction of the carton will more readily beunderstood from a description of the blank, generally indicated at 11,from which the carton is produced, and from a description of the mannerin which the blank is folded and glued to form the carton, than from adescription of the carton construction per se. The following descriptionis set out in accordance with this idea.

To facilitate the description, the top to bottom dimension of the blank,as viewed in FIGURE 7, will be considered to be the length of the blank,and the left to right dimension its width. Lines running top to bottomin FIGURE 7 are thus longitudinal and lines running across the blank aretransverse. The blank 11 from which the carton is produced is a mirrorimage about its longitudinal centerline and is almost a mirror imageabout the transverse line AA. The part of the blank below the transverseline AA, as viewed in FIGURE 7, differs from the part of the blank abovethat line in that it is somewhat longer and its free edge has a modifiedshape to be described hereinafter.

The blank 11, of board of suitable thickness, effectively includes sevenareas or panels 12 to 18, the boundaries of which are constituted by thetransverse edges of the blank and by perforated, zig-zagging lines 19 to24 extending across the blank. The panel 12 is strip-like in form and isbounded by one transverse edge of the blank 11 and by the line 19. Theline 19 is part of, and forms one boundary of, a pattern of score linesand cuts which is repeated six times across the Width of the blank. Thispattern is contained in the area 13. The line 20 is part of, and formsthe other boundary of this pattern. The pattern includes two spacedapart straight perforated lines 26 and 27 which extend transversely ofthe blank, and a series of perforated lines 28 which run longitudinallyof the blank between the lines 26 and 27. These lines 26 to 28 togetherdefine a series of six rectangles 29, and the lines 26 and 27 inconjunction with the lines 19 and 20 respectively, define a series oftriangles. Each triangle is divided into three parts by two out lines 30and 31. The cut lines 30 and 31 and part of the lines 19, 26 and 20, 27define small five-sided tabs. The tabs 32 are only attached to theremainder of the blank on two of their five sides as those parts ofthelines 26 and 27 which form the sides of the tabs 32 are out ratherthan perforated.

Each rectangle is divided into two equal flaps 29A by by a cut 33extending in the direction of the length of the blank. Further lines 34,formed partly by cutting and partly by perforating, are provided on eachside of the line 23 and together define a tear drop shape. The middleportion of each line 34 is perforated and the end portions of each line34 are cut. This arrangement results in the formation of small tabs 29B.

Adjacent rectangles share a common perforation line 28 with theexception of the middle pair of rectangles whose bounding perforationlines are spaced from one another somewhat in the direction of the widthof the blank thereby to form a bar 35.

The middle part of the blank, that is the part immediately on each sideof the line AA, includes a pair of parallel perforated lines 36 and 37extending transversely of the blank. Longitudinally extending perforatedlines 38 which join the lines 36 and 37, and longitudinally extendingcuts 39 which are somewhat longer than lines 38 and extend on both sidesof lines 36 and 37, are provided in the area 15. These lines 36, 37, 38and 39 divide the central part of the blank into a number of flaps. Thelines 38 and 39 are not equally spaced apart so that there is formedflaps 40 which are of greater width than the remaining flaps 41. Twoflaps 40 are at the edges of the blank and the remaining two flaps 40are centrally of the blank.

The lines 21 and 22, together with the lines 36 and 37, define a seriesof triangles which are each divided into two parts by one of the lines39. Each line 39 has a small cutout 42 at the center thereof, andstar-like cuts 43 on each side of each cutout 42.

As the panel 16 is similar to the panel 14, and the area 12 is similarto the area 13, neither the area 17 nor the panel 16 will be describedin detail. However, it should be noted that the area 17 includes twotransverse perforated lines 44 and 45.

The panel 18 differs from the panel 12 in that the panel 18 is somewhatlarger than the panel 12 and includes, along the transverse edge of theblank, a series of six cutouts 46. Each cutout 46 is narrower at itsmouth than at its closed end and the edge 47 which forms the closed endof the cutout 44 is triangular in shape with its apex pointing towardsthe open end of the cutout.

The manner in which the blank 11 is folded and glued to form the eggcarton 10 will now be described. The first step is to fold the blankabout the lines 26 and 44 so that the panel 12, and the panel 18 andarea 17, overlie the remainder of the blank. The surface of the panel 12which is now uppermost, that is, the surface which is not visible inFIGURE 7, is then coated with adhesive and the panel is folded oncemore, this fold being about the line 36. This results in the coatedsurface of the panel 11 coming into contact with the surface of thepanel 18 which, upon the panel being folded about the line 44 becomesthe uppermost one. The panels 12 and 18 are pressed into engagement withone another so that they become firmly adhered together. The blank thenassumes the form illustrated in FIGURES 8, 9 and 10. From FIGURE 9 itwill be seen that the blank can now be considered to be a collapsedsleeve having three 180 bends therein. The lines 26, 44 and 36 coincidewith these bends. All three bends are then opened out into 90 bends sothat the blank assumes the form of a rectangular sleeve which is dividedinto two parts by a vertical Wall constituted by the panels 12 and 18.The panel 12 extends alongside the panel 18 for a short way from the topof the panel 18 but terminates considerably above the lower edge of thepanel 18.

As described, the provision of the perforated lines 26, -27 and 28 andthe cuts 33 gives rise to a number of flaps 39A which are joined to oneanother along one of the lines of perforations 28. This will readily beseen from FIGURE 7. The next stage in the erection of the carton is topress each one of these flaps 29A inwardly by bending them about theseparating lines 28. The effect of pressing down on the flaps 29A is toopen up two rows of six holes elongated in the direction of the width ofthe carton. Each hole is of sufiicient size to have an egg pushedtherethrough into the interior of the carton. The holes formed arereferenced 48 in FIGURE and one hole 48 is also visible in FIGURE 11.The flaps 40 and 41 of the blank are pressed upwardly towards theinterior of the carton and simultaneously the central parts of adjacentfiaps 40 and 41 are squeezed towards one another about the lines 38 sothat each fold line 38 effectively becomes a 180 bend and the adjacentflaps 40, 41 at their central parts, lie in face-to-face contact. Thecuts 43 form points of Weakness along the edges of the flaps 40 and 41and enable the middle portions of the these flaps, that is, the portionsbetween the pairs of cuts 43, to be squeezed towards one another withoutunduly displacing the parts of the flaps which are outside the cuts 43.In this condition the free edges of the flaps 40 and 41 can be enteredin the cutouts 46, and when these flaps are released the naturaltendancy which they have to spring apart about the fold lines 38 pressesthese flaps into firm engagement with the side walls of the cutouts 46.The tapering configuration of each cutout 46 prevents the two flapsentered therein from leaving the cutout and the shaped end walls 45enter and interlock with the cutouts 42 thereby improving the stabilityof the connection between the panel 18 and the flaps 40 and 41.

At the time that the flaps 29B are pressed inwardly the small tabs 32are unaffected by this action as they are separated from the flaps 29Bby the cuts which form parts of the lines 26 and 27. Consequently, asthe panels 12, 14, 16 and 18 to which the tabs 32 are attached take upvertical positions When the carton is erected, these tabs 32 also takeup vertical positions and as shown in FIGURE 11 project upwardly abovethe level of the eggs contained within the carton thereby to protect theeggs from damage when the cartons are stacked. Thus the carton 10, asillustrated in FIGURE 1, includes two spaced apart side walls 14 and 16,a number of upwardly open V-shaped lower ribs composed of the flaps 40and 41 and forming the bottom of the carton, a central wall structurecomposed of the panels 1 2 and 18, and a top composed of a number ofdownwardly open upper V- shaped ribs formed by the flaps 29A. Each upperrib is in two parts, each part extending from one side wall to thecentral wall structure. The transverse lower and upper ribs are spacedapart longitudinally of the carton and the upper and lower ribs arestaggered so that the spaces between the lower ribs are all verticallybelow the spaces between the upper ribs so that each lower rib and thetwo upper ribs above the spaces immediately to each side of said lowerrib form a pair of side-by-side egg receiving cells.

FIGURE 11 illustrates the manner in which the tabs 29B cooperate with anegg seated in one of the cells of the carton. These tabs 29B aredeformed as the egg is pushed into the carton through the hole 46, anddue to their natural resiliency, remain in engagement with the egg, tomaintain the egg in a fixed position Within the carton.

FIGURE 12 illustrates a slightly modified form for the panels 29A andtabs 29B. In this arrangement the free edge of each fiap 29A hasadjacent thereto a pair of score lines 49, the score lines 49 defining,with the free edge of the flap 29A, a triangular configuration which issplit in two by a out line 50 substantially normal to the free edge andextending from the free edge to the junction between the lines 49.

We claim:

1. A multicellular carton erected from a one-piece blank and comprisingfirst and second spaced apart side walls extending longitudinally of thecarton, a plurality of first ribs spaced apart longitudinally of thecarton and together forming a bottom for the carton, said first ribsbeing integral with said side walls and extending transversely acrossthe carton from said first side wall to said second side wall, a centralwall structure having top and bottom edges and extending longitudinallyof the carton between said side walls, said bottom edge and said firstribs being secured together, and a plurality of second ribs spaced apartlongitudinally of the carton and together forming a top for the carton,said second ribs each being integral with one of said side walls andwith said central wall structure and each extending between one of saidside walls and said central wall structure, and the second ribs beingstaggered with respect to said first ribs whereby spaces betweenadjacent first ribs are each immediately below second ribs, each firstrib and those second ribs which are immediately above the spaces on eachside of that first rib defining a pair of cells sideby-side in thetransverse direction of the carton.

2. A carton according to claim 1 in which each first rib is of upwardlyopen V-shape and includes two sloping panels joined together along afold line.

3. A carton according to claim 2 in which said second ribs includedownwardly sloping panels.

4. A carton according to claim 3 in which each of said second ribs,apart from those second ribs at the longitudinal extremities of thecarton, is of downwardlyopen V-shaped consisting of two panels joinedtogether along a fold line, and said second ribs at said extremitieseach consists of a single downwardly sloping panel.

5. A multicellular carton erected from a one-piece blank and comprisingtwo spaced apart side walls extending longitudinally of the carton, aplurality of first ribs spaced apart longitudinally of the carton andtogether forming a bottom for the carton, each first rib being ofupwardly open V-shape, being integral with said side walls and extendingtransversely of the carton therebetween, a central wall structureextending longitudinally of the carton between said side walls andhaving a lower edge in which a plurality of cutouts are formed and whichcutouts receive and retain said first ribs, and a plurality of secondribs spaced apart longitudinally of the carton and together forming atop for the carton, said second ribs each being integral with one ofsaid side walls and with said central wall structure and each extendingbetween one of said side walls and said central Wall structure, and thesecond ribs being staggered with respect to said first ribs wherebyspaces between adjacent first ribs are each immediately below secondribs, each first rib and those second ribs which are immediately abovethe spaces on each side of that first rib defining a pair of cellsside-by-side in the transverse direction of the carton.

6. A carton according to claim 5 in which each of seid cutouts has amouth coinciding with said edge, and an end wall, the cutouts eachtapering from said mouth to said end Wall.

7. A carton according to claim 6 in which each first rib includes twopanels which slope upwardly and away from one another and are joined attheir lower edges along a fold line.

8. A multicellular carton erected from a one-piece blank and comprisingtwo spaced apart side walls extending longitudinally of the carton, aplurality of first ribs spaced apart longitudinally of the carton andtogether forming a bottom for the carton, said first ribs being integralwith said side walls, and extending transversely of the carton betweensaid side walls, a central wall structure extending longitudinally ofthe carton between said side walls and consisting of a first centralwall and a second central wall which are adhered together, said firstcentral wall being of greater height than said second central wall andhaving a lower edge to which said first ribs are secured, and aplurality of second ribs spaced apart longitudinally of the carton andtogether forming a top for the carton, each second rib being in twoaligned parts one of which is integral with a first of said side walland with said first central wall, and the other of which is integralwith a second of said side walls and with said second central wall, andthe second ribs being staggered with respect to said first ribs wherebyspaces between adjacent first ribs are each immediately, below secondribs, each first rib and those second ribs which are immediately abovethe spaces on each side of that first rib defining a pair of cellsside-by-sicle in the transverse direction of the carton.

9. A carton according to claim 8 in which each of said first and secondcentral walls is joined to the associated rib parts along a zig-zaggingfold line.

10. A blank for a multicellular carton of the type having twolongitudinally extending side walls, a bottom structure, a topstructure, and a central wall structure extending longitudinally of thecarton between said side walls and dividing the carton into two parts,the blank being substantially rectangular in shape and having transverseand longitudinal edges, and consisting, in series between saidtransverse edges, of a first panel bounded by a first fold line and byone of said transverse edges and adapted to form part of said centralwall structure, a second panel bounded by said first fold line and asecond fold line, said second panel being cut and scored to define aside-by-side series of pairs of flaps transversely of the blank, theflaps of each pair being joined together along a fold line and adjacentpairs being separated by out lines whereby said pairs of fiaps can bepressed out of the plane of the blank to form downwardly open V- shapedribs forming part of said top structure, a third panel adapted to formone of said side walls and bounded by said second fold line and by afold score line, a fourth panel bounded by said third fold line and by afourth fold line, said fourth panels being cut and scored to define aside-by-side series of pairs of flaps transversely of the blank, thefiaps of each of these pairs being joined together along a fold line andadjacent pairs being separated by cut lines whereby these pairs of fiapscan be pressed out of the plane of the blank to form upwardly openV-shaped ribs adapted to constitute said bottom of the carton, a fifthpanel bounded by said fourth fold line and a fifth fold line, said fifthpanel being adapted to form a second side wall for the carton, a sixthpanel bounded by said fifth fold line and by a sixth fold line, thesixth panel being cut and scored to define a side-by-side series ofpairs of flaps transversely of the blank, the flaps of each pair beingjoined together along fold lines and adjacent pairs being separated bycut lines whereby these pairs can be pressed out of the plane of theblank to form downwardly open V-shaped ribs forming part of said topstructure, the V-shaped ribs of the second and sixth panels beingaligned longitudinally of the blank, and being staggered with respect tothe V- shaped ribs of said fourth panel, and a seventh panel bounded bysaid sixth fold line and by the other transverse edge of the blank, saidseventh panel being adapted to be adhered to said first panel toconstitute said central wall structure, said other transverse edge beingadapted for connection to the central parts of said ribs.

11. A blank according to claim 10 in which said other transverse edgeincludes a series of cutouts having mouths which coincide with thatedge, and end walls, the cutouts tapering such that they are wider attheir mouths than at their end walls.

12. A blank according to claim lit, in which each of the flaps of thesecond and sixth panels has, adjacent its free edge, a pair of scorelines defining with the free edge, a triangular configuration split intwo by a out line substantially normal to said free edge and extendingfrom the free edge to the junction between said pair of score lines.

13. A blank according to claim 10, wherein said first through sixth foldlines each consist of first and second perforated lines, each firstperforated line being straight and each second perforated linezigzagging, the first and second perforated lines together defining sixrows of triangles extending transversely of the blank are formed.

14. A blank according to claim 10, wherein said first, second, fifth andsixth fold lines each consist of first and second perforated lines, eachfirst perforated line being straight and each second perforated lineZig-zagging, the first and second perforated lines together definingfour rows of triangles, the rows extending transversely of the blank,and each triangle being slit into three parts by two cut lines therebyto provide tabs which project upwardly when the carton is erected.

References Cited by the Examiner FOREIGN PATENTS 7/1964 Great Britain.

GEORGE O. RALSTON, Primary Examiner.

1. A MULTICELLULAR CARTON ERECTED FROM A ONE-PIECE BLANK AND COMPRISINGFIRST AND SECOND SPACED APART SIDE WALLS EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF THECARTON, A PLURALITY OF FIRST RIBS SPACED APART LONGITUDINALLY OF THECARTONS AND TOGETHER FORMING A BOTTOM FOR THE CARTON, SAID FIRST RIBSBEING INTEGRAL WITH SAID SIDE WALLS AND EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY ACROSSTHE CARTON FROM SAID FIRST SIDE WALL TO SAID SECOND SIDE WALL, A CENTRALWALL STRUCTURE HAVING TOP AND BOTTOM EDGES AND EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLYOF THE CARTON BETWEEN SAID SIDE WALLS, SAID BOTTOM EDGE AND SAID FIRSTRIBS BEING SECURED TOGETHER, AND A PLURALITY OF SECOND RIBS SPACED APARTLONGITUDINALLY OF THE CARTON AND